Kinross Gold (KGC) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chief Executive Officer - J. Paul Rollinson
• Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer - Andrea Susan Freeborough
• Executive Vice President - David C. Shaver
• Senior Leadership Team - Bernard Wessels
• Senior Leadership Team - William D. Dunford
• Senior Leadership Team - Geoffrey Gold

TAKEAWAYS

• Attributable Gold Equivalent Production -- 424,693 ounces, representing a 16% decrease from the third quarter of 2025 due to planned lower output at Fort Knox and Bald Mountain.
• Attributable All-In Sustaining Cost -- $1,947 per equivalent ounce sold, reflecting a 20% increase from the previous year driven by higher production costs.
• Adjusted Net Earnings -- $591.3 million, or $0.50 per share, compared to $529.6 million, or $0.44 per share, in the third quarter of 2025.
• Metal Sales -- $1.77 billion, remaining comparable to the previous year as a 23% increase in realized gold prices offset a decrease in ounces sold.
• Production Cost of Sales -- $1,502 per equivalent ounce sold, an increase of 31% from last year caused by higher energy, contractor, and reagent expenses.
• Average Realized Gold Price -- $4,249 per ounce, representing a significant increase from $3,460 per ounce in the third quarter of 2025.
• Attributable Adjusted Operating Cash Flow -- $830.9 million, a 14% decrease from the previous year due to higher income taxes and decreased margins.
• Shareholder Return Allocation -- 50% of free cash flow, an increase from the previous 40% target announced in Sept. 2026.
• Share Repurchases -- $230 million, with 8.6 million shares bought back during the third quarter.
• Cash and Cash Equivalents -- $2.6 billion at quarter end, providing the company with significant financial strength for growth projects.
• Tasiast Gold Production -- 146,000 ounces at a production cost of sales of $1,200 per ounce, which met management's internal plan.
• Paracatu Gold Production -- 120,000 ounces at a production cost of sales of $1,070 per ounce, supported by high throughput and mining performance.
• La Coipa Production -- 29,000 ounces, which was impacted by unprecedented winter weather and higher than expected copper grades in sulfide ore.
• Round Mountain Production -- 27,000 ounces, which was below original expectations due to lower mill grades and slower mining rates.
• Annual Production Guidance -- 1.84 million to 1.86 million ounces, confirming updated projections for the full 2026 fiscal year.
• Annual All-In Sustaining Cost Guidance -- $1,850 to $1,900 per ounce, which remains on track with updated estimates.
• Capital Expenditure Guidance -- $1.5 billion, with a variance of plus or minus 5% for the 2026 fiscal year.
• Great Bear Project Development -- 55% completion of detailed engineering, with first production targeted for late 2029.
• Round Mountain Recovery Rate -- 60% in the third quarter, which represented an improvement from a 44% recovery rate in the prior quarter.
• Phase X Underground Development -- 9,600 meters completed to date, which is 8% ahead of the original project schedule.
• Curlew Project Progress -- First production on track for 2028, with mill refurbishment and tailings plant construction advancing.

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RISKS

• Rollinson warned that higher than expected copper rates in portions of the sulfide ore at La Coipa added blending complexity, which impacted near-term production.
• Wessels noted that the company is responding to the loss of two business partner employees at the Bald Mountain operation in Nevada. Bernard Wessels stated, "We are deeply saddened by these incidents, and our thoughts remain with their families, friends, and colleagues."
• Rollinson noted that Nevada remains a competitive market, stating, "there is competition for everything. Competition for people, competition for spares."

SUMMARY

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) reported its third quarter 2026 financial and operational results, highlighting a performance driven by core assets Tasiast and Paracatu and progress across high-grade growth projects. Management reported that the company achieved a free cash flow of $1.8 billion through the first nine months of the year, which supported an increase in the shareholder return commitment to 50% of free cash flow. While production at La Coipa and Round Mountain was affected by weather and operational challenges, management stated that these assets have stabilized. The company is currently executing a grade enhancement strategy intended to deliver higher-grade, lower-cost production starting in 2028 from projects such as Phase X, Curlew, and Tasiast.

• Rollinson noted that the Great Bear project is not highly capital sensitive, stating, "this is not what I would call a particularly capital sensitive project given production margins and cash flow."
• The company expects higher production in 2028 relative to 2027 as the grade enhancement strategy begins to provide an organic offset to inflation.
• S&P upgraded the company's credit rating to BBB flat with a stable outlook during the third quarter.
• Permitting for the Great Bear main project remains on track for a final decision in the spring of 2027 to facilitate a summer construction start.
• Management is evaluating incremental investment opportunities, such as the Fort Knox Phase 11 extension, to support production targets in the 2030s.
• Rollinson stated that the company remains disciplined regarding mergers and acquisitions, indicating that Kinross does not feel under pressure to pursue external growth given its internal resource optionality.
• The company maintains oil hedges for approximately 50% of its anticipated 2027 diesel exposure at prices between $60 to $65 per barrel.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• AEX: Advanced Exploration, specifically referring to the underground exploration program at the Great Bear project.
• AISC: All-in sustaining cost, a non-GAAP financial measure used to estimate the total cost of producing gold.
• CIL: Carbon-in-leach, a gold recovery process where cyanide leaching and carbon adsorption occur simultaneously.
• dore: A semi-pure alloy of gold and silver produced at a mine site and then sent to a refinery.
• EIA: Environmental Impact Assessment, a formal process for evaluating the environmental effects of a proposed project.
• IBA: Impact Benefits Agreement, a formal contract between a mining company and an indigenous community.
• M&I: Measured and Indicated mineral resources, a category of mineral resources with a high level of geological confidence.
• SARP: Solvent Extraction-Electrowinning and Refining Plant, a facility used for recovering and refining precious metals.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Thank you for standing by. Name is Carey, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Kinross Gold Third Quarter 26 Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to withdraw your question, press 1 again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to David C. Shaver, Executive Vice President. Please go ahead.

David C. Shaver: Thank you, and good morning. In the room with us today on the call we have Paul Rollinson, CEO, and from the Kinross senior leadership team, Andrea Susan Freeborough, Bernard Wessels, William D. Dunford, and Geoffrey Gold. For a complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties which may lead to actual results differing from estimates contained in our forward looking information, please refer to page 3 of this presentation our news release dated 10/28/2026, the MD&A for the period ended 09/30/2026 and most recently filed AIF, all of which are available on our website. I will now turn the call over to Paul.

J. Paul Rollinson: Thanks, David, and thank you all for joining us. This morning, I will discuss our third quarter results, provide high level updates from across our portfolio, comment on our sustainability achievements, and confirm our outlook. I will then hand the call over to the team to provide further details. Before we begin discussing the quarter, keeping with our first priorities, I would like to address a very important matter with regards to safety. We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of 2 employees of business partners at our Bald Mountain operations in Nevada. We extend our sincere condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues. The safety of every individual at our sites is our highest priority.

And we are committed to learning from these incidents and reinforcing our safety controls across our operations. Turning now to our results. Following a strong H1, our portfolio delivered on our updated commitments for the third quarter. Both Tasiast and Paracatu, our 2 top-tier low-cost assets, were key contributors and together accounted for more than half of our production at attractive operating costs. In La Coipa and Round Mountain, the 2 smaller assets, behind the near term guidance update, delivered in line with our updated expectations. In terms of cost, we continue to hold the line on total operating costs and delivered strong operating margins.

All this translated to free cash flow of over $1.8 billion through the first 9 months and we ended the quarter with significant financial strength including $2.6 billion in cash. This enabled us to increase our shareholder returns from 40% to 50% of our free cash flow and we have now returned over $950 million to our shareholders year to date. I am pleased to report that over the last 6 quarters, we have now repurchased approximately 5% of our outstanding shares. Turning now to our growth projects. Our project pipeline is advancing as we continue to make strong progress across our mine life extensions and growth opportunities.

In The US, the team continues to progress our 3 high quality projects phase x, Redbird, and Curlew. At Great Bear, both the advanced exploration and the main project are advancing well. In terms of AEX, we continue to make strong progress advancing the north and south exploration declines for a combined total of over 500 meters of underground development completed to date. With respect to the main project, both detailed engineering and permitting are advancing well and we remain on track with first production in late 2029. In terms of permitting, we continue to work closely with the authorities and are significantly advanced on the federal and provincial permitting process.

And in parallel, we are actively engaging with the local communities and indigenous partners through regular community meetings ongoing collaboration, and transparent communication.

Geoffrey Gold: Which Geoff will comment on later.

J. Paul Rollinson: Moving across to growth in Chile, Last quarter, we provided an updated view of Lobo Marte highlighting its strong production profile low cost structure, and attractive economics. And in Q3, we continue to advance permitting detailed engineering, and execution planning towards targeted first production in the early 20 thirties. Turning now to a few remarks on sustainability. In Q3, we continued to make meaningful impact across our regions. 3 highlights include our work with Trout Unlimited on the Cripple Creek restoration project in Alaska. Which focused on restoring waterways and fish habitat impacted by non Kinross historic mining. We also supported recovery efforts following the Tok Well fire in Alaska. Including emergency assistance for families whose homes were rendered uninhabitable.

And in Chile, we were proud to receive the Mining Foundation of Chile's award for commitment to territories and education. recognizing our support for education, training, and opportunities in the Atacama region. Turning now to our outlook. The broader portfolio continues to perform well. Operations at La Coipa and Round Mountain have stabilized. And we are firmly on track to deliver our updated production guidance of 1.84 million to 1.86 million ounces. Looking ahead, we remain focused on the following.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: Safe operational execution, cost management through productivity initiatives, delivering our grade enhancement strategy, maintaining our strong financial position, disciplined capital allocation, and advancement of our high quality resource base.

J. Paul Rollinson: And project pipeline. With that, I will now turn the call over to Andrea.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: Thanks, Paul. I will review our financial highlights from the quarter. Provide an overview of our balance sheet and return of capital, and comment on our outlook. We delivered Q3 as per our updated plan with production and cost in line and a significant amount of capital returned to shareholders, through our dividend and increased share buyback plans. We produced 425 thousand ounces and sold 410 thousand ounces. With the difference a function of timing of ounces sold. Cost of sales was $1.49 thousand per ounce. And all in sustaining cost was $1.95 thousand per ounce.

Through the first 9 months, our production cost of sales was $1.4 thousand per ounce, and our all in sustaining cost was $1.83 thousand per ounce. Both tracking well, towards our updated full year guidance. Q3 margins were strong at approximately $2.75 thousand per ounce. Our adjusted earnings were $0.50 per share in the quarter, and our adjusted operating cash flow was $831 million in the quarter and over $3 billion through the first 9 months. Attributable adjusted free cash flow was $391 million when excluding the impact of working capital outflows. Working capital outflows primarily reflect an increase in short term stockpile balances at Manh Choh, along with lower payables and higher prepaids.

All of which are a function of timing. Free cash flow was also impacted by the timing of assets sold given the bank holiday on September 30. The unsold assets at the end of the quarter were sold in early October. Turning now to our balance sheet and return of capital. We ended the quarter with $2.6 billion in cash, and $1.9 billion in net cash. During the quarter, S&P upgraded our credit rating to BBB flat with stable outlook consistent with our ratings at both Moody's and Fitch. With respect to our return of capital, in September, we increased our commitment from 40% to 50% of our full year free cash flow through both dividends and share repurchases.

We believe our shares continue to represent a strong return on invested capital considering our even more attractive valuation and free cash flow yield. In Q3, we accelerated our buyback program and repurchased a total of 8.6 million shares $230 million. We also continue to pay our quarterly dividend of approximately $50 million Combined, our total return of capital in the first 9 months represented approximately 46% of our attributable free cash flow, an increase from 37% in the first half of the year.

J. Paul Rollinson: Subsequent to quarter end, we repurchased an additional 100 million in shares and we remain on track to achieve our 50% commitment by the end of this year. Since resuming our share buybacks in April 2025, we have repurchased over $1.4 billion in shares representing approximately 5% of our outstanding share count. Including in our dividend, we have returned over $9 million to date in 2026, and over $1.7 billion since the start of 2025. These results reflect the strength of our cash flow generation and our ongoing commitment to delivering meaningful returns to shareholders while continuing to invest in our business further strengthening our balance sheet.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: Turning now to our guidance. We remain on track to deliver our updated production cost of sales and all in sustaining cost guidance. Production is expected to be between 3.45 million ounces in the fourth quarter to deliver 1.84 million to 1.86 million ounces for the year. And we are on track to meet our updated cost of sales guidance of $1.42 thousand to $1.46 thousand per gram and all in sustaining cost guidance of $1.85 thousand to $1.9 thousand per ounce. We are also on track with our original capital guidance range of $1.5 billion plus or minus 5%.

Looking ahead to 2027, as noted in our September update, we also expect production in the range of 1.84 million to 1.86 million ounces. In terms of 2027 capital, as previously noted, our $1.5 billion guidance range remains subject to inflation and incremental project additions to support production in the 2030s. We are actively evaluating incremental investment opportunities to unlock value from our significant resource inventory. This includes the Fort Knox Phase 11 extension, and other targeted opportunities across the portfolio to add ounces and extend mine life. William will discuss these later in the call. Our annual budgeting process is underway we will provide detailed 2027 production, cost, and capital guidance with our year-end results.

Looking forward to 2028, our grade enhancement strategy is expected to drive higher production relative to 2027 and provide an organic offset to inflation with the addition of higher grade ounces from phase x Curlew, and Tasiast. With that, I will now turn the call over to Bernard.

Bernard Wessels: Thank you, Andrea. I would like to begin by acknowledging the tragic loss of 2 business partner employees at our Bald Mountain operation in Nevada. We are deeply saddened by these incidents, and our thoughts remain with their families, friends, and colleagues. As Paul noted, the safety of everyone at our sites is our highest priority. Following these incidents, we held company wide safety standouts to reflect, reinforce, and share learnings across the business. Going forward, we will maintain our relentless focus on fatality prevention and reinforce our risk management programs. We continue to be committed to visible leadership disciplined execution, and the active management of everyone working through our guidance. Turning now to our operation.

Starting with Tasiast, the mine continued to perform exceptionally well, with increasing ore tonnes mined at stronger throughput, driving significant free cash flow. The production of 146 thousand ounces at a cost of sales of $1.2 thousand per ounce was on plan. Paracatu remains on track to meet its guidance of 600 thousand ounces at a target cost of sales of $1.24 thousand per ounce. At our lowest cost operation has delivered another excellent quarter with strong throughput and mining performance. Production of 120 thousand ounces at a cost of sales of $1.07 thousand per ounce was on plan.

Target remains on track to meet the guidance of 505 thousand ounces at a target cost of sales of $1.05 thousand per ounce. At La Coipa, we produced 29 thousand ounces at a cost of sales of $2.19 thousand per ounce. As highlighted in September updates, La Coipa was 1 of the 2 assets impacting our near term production in 2026 and 2027. Production was lower quarter over quarter primarily due to unprecedented winter weather. Restricted access to the ore needed to maintain our dominant seed lanes. This reduced mining rates and ultimately impacted mill throughput. Simultaneously, we encountered higher-than- expected copper rates in portions of the sulfide ore, Which added blending complexity.

The process has since recovered from the weather disruptions, and both mining and mill activities have stabilized. To manage the higher copper price and improve recoveries, we are rebuilding ore stockpiles, while strengthening our ore control to maintain the right blend through the mill. As part of our continuous improvement program, we have increased oxygen and lead nitrate usage and are advancing mill optimization. These actions have started to deliver results, with mill throughput stabilizing. And more importantly, the impact is on the near term as La Coipa provides a transition to Lobo Marte, which remains the key long term value driver for us in Chile. Turning to our U.S. operations.

Combined, The US sites delivered production of 129 thousand ounces at a cost of sales of $2 thousand per ounce. At Fort Knox, production was 72 thousand ounces at a cost of sales of $1.94 thousand per ounce. Production reflected more maintenance activities and planned lower grades during the quarter. Partially offset by improved mill recoveries. At Bald Mountain, production was 29 thousand ounces at a cost of sales of $1.62 thousand per ounce. Production reflected higher tons placed on the heap leach pads partially offset by lower grades due to plant mine sequencing.

And I am pleased to report that report our first dose from Redbird 1 in early October, which, combined with Redbird 2, extends mine life into the early 2030s. At around mountain, as planned, we started to see higher low grades and incremental improvement in recoveries. Resulting in higher production quarter over quarter. Production of 27 thousand ounces was higher at a cost of sales of $2.56 thousand per ounce. Despite higher production, it was below our original expectation, and Round Mountain was the second of 2 smaller assets impacting our near term production profile. This was a result of lower than planned mill grades recoveries, slower mining rates driven by increased selective mining.

Operations have started to stabilize as we continue to implement initiatives to improve performance at Round Mountain. And we are noticing improvement in ore reconciliation and recovery, a 60% recovery in the third quarter compared to 44% recovery in the prior quarter. Before I hand over to Will, I would like to touch on a few other updates. In terms of wear events, we are closely monitoring the potential impacts of El Nino and preparing for different weather conditions across our South American assets. At Chile, our focus is on managing increased snowfall and maintain safe site access. While at Paracatu, we are preparing for both heavy rainfall and potential drought conditions.

Our teams have detailed plans in place to support safe and reliable operations. With regards to productivity improvements, we continue to see strong results from our continuous improvement programs focused on productivity and cost discipline. Building on that work, we have launched our critical success factors initiative. which focuses each operation on a few priorities that matter most to deliver a team's plan with clear ownership, reasonable targets, and disciplined execution. With that, I will now pass the call over to Will.

William D. Dunford: Thanks, Bernard. Turning to the depths of our resource. More than 27 million ounces of M&I, an additional 17 million ounces of inferred, we continue to have a strong resource inventory for future development across our portfolio. Building on that depth, our technical teams are advancing studies for several mine life extension opportunities. Similar to what we saw with the 3 US growth projects, announced earlier this year, these internal projects provide significant optionality to invest further capital in our business, our existing assets, strengthen our production profile, extend mine lives in the 20 thirties, and create value for our share.

We are focused on completing robust technical work on these projects for our capital allocation decisions, and we will continue to assess margins, risk, and returns as we make investment decisions. Turning now to our 3 US growth projects. These projects represent an important next phase for our portfolio. Adding higher grade, lower cost production, significantly extending mine lives, and adding value to shareholders by reinvesting in our existing operating footprint and resource base. We are pleased to report that execution is progressing well across all 3 projects, with development, engineering, and construction activities advancing significantly over the last quarter.

Starting with our Curlew project in Washington, we are making significant progress on both the mill refurbishment and tailings dewatering plant construction. At the tailings dewatering plant, work outside the building on tanks and the thickener is nearing completion ahead of winter. And work inside the building is progressing well. On installation of structural steel and mechanical equipment. The mill refurbishment contractor ramped up work substantially this quarter. Demolition work progressing well and installation of the new CIL tanks underway. Work at the mine is also progressing well with underground development ahead of schedule Initial reaming of the main ventilation rate is now complete. And construction of a new dry and maintenance facility largely complete.

Overall, these activities are on track for first production at Curlew in 2028. Moving to Redbird at Bald Mountain. We saw first production from Redbird 1 earlier this month. Pre-stripping and construction activities for Redbird 2 are progressing well. Engineering and procurement for the SARP plant has also progressed well. Detailed engineering now 30% complete. And early procurement of long lead items underway. Additionally, permitting for the Redbird 2 satellite pits was completed this quarter. Putting us on track to begin mining those pits in 2027 as planned. And the Phase X project at Round Mountain we are approximately 8% ahead of schedule on underground development, over 9.6 thousand meters completed to date.

Further derisking our path to first production in 2028. In parallel, engineering, procurement, and early works for both surface and underground infrastructure continue to progress on plan. And we continue to ramp up operations readiness positioning the team for a smooth transition into operations as we move towards initial production. Infill drilling has also progressed for the early stoping horizons at Phase X. And we have seen positive results indicating higher tons and ounces contained in our first stopes than what was modeled in our resource. This is driven by improved continuity of mineralization, as we drill into tighter spacing allowing us to take a bulkier stope and more ounces than planned.

You can see here some impressive intercepts, including 80 meters at 10 grams per ton. Which show potential to increase both the grade and tons delivered from this scope versus the resource model. Which showed around 40 thousand tons of 4 grams per ton for this particular SOAP. While still early, these results are encouraging. Adding confidence the initial mining inventory and supporting the planned production ramp up. We also continued extensional drilling in Q3 and intersected an impressive zone of mineralization. 11.7 grams per ton over 27 meters, above the ~300 meters down dip of our initial resource at Phase X.

Aligned with our thesis for this deposit, this drilling continues to show potential for mineralization to continue down-dip, extending the resource base and mine life. Here, you can see some highlights on a few of the additional potential investment opportunities for our next phase of projects from within our resource base. First, at Fort Knox, continuing to advance work on the next potential open pit layback. Phase 11. This layback of the existing pit contains approximately 2 million ounces and has the potential to meaningfully extend our long standing tenure in Alaska.

We view this as a lower risk project, given that the majority of capital would be for routine work for our Fort Knox team, including waste stripping, and heap leach pad expansions. Study work is progressing well, and we are expecting to release a project update in H1 2027 and could start pre stripping as early as next year. At Tasiast, studies are continuing to progress on both open pit and underground extensions at West Branch. Where the high grade core of the deposit continues at depth. We are also continuing to explore and study satellites with optionality to bring additional ounces into the profile. From opportunities such as Fennec, which was added last year.

At Bald Mountain, continuing to unlock the resource base across our land. Our current focus is on the top area, where the larger top open pit pushback and smaller Top satellite pit, are being studied. These opportunities could potentially further extend my life beyond Redbird in the 20 thirties. Lastly, at Lobo Marte, we are pleased with permitting progress to date. Which is on track after our EIA was accepted for review by Chile's environmental authority in early Q2 26. We are starting to progress detailed engineering and are in the process of project execution planning to target first production in the early 20 thirties. Lobo Marte is a strategic focus for us alongside Great Bear.

And a key piece of our great enhancement strategy given the strong potential production profile and margins driven by the high grade and low strip ratio of the high-grade asset. La Coipa is another area that we have significant optionality both in our resource base and in our exploration projects. The first phase of the optionality is the oxide extensions that sit in our resource and are currently in permitting and under study. These are laybacks of existing pits, and they have the potential to start contributing in 2028 after we complete mining of the current pits to Phase 2 and Phase 7 in 2027.

Bernard spoke about some higher than expected copper grades we saw at La Coipa this quarter. Although this negatively affected near term production, these high grade sulfides at the bottom of the existing oxide pits. Represents our second phase of optionality. On that front, we are undertaking exploration to find an inventory and a PFS to explore potential for a flotation plant. To add on to the existing circuit to process high-grade sulfides. This is early stage with potential for the mid-2030s. Post oxide extensions. The third phase of optionality at La Coipa the potential for large copper porphyry deposits. Deeper on the property that is feeding the large number of surface deposits that we have mined historically.

This is longer term optionality and would be a different scale of operations at La Coipa. it is only in the early exploration stage right now. Deep drilling underway to try to find a copper porphyry. Turning now to Great Bear. We continue to advance the AEX program in parallel with permitting, detailed engineering, and procurement for the main project. Surface construction is now substantially complete. With all infrastructure in place to support underground development. Both declines are advancing well with over 500 meters completed today, on a combined basis. For the main project, manufacturing is underway on several long lead equipment including the mill motors, transformers, and power plant generators.

We have also awarded the construction contract for the administration and camp facilities. Detailed engineering is progressing well and is now over 55% complete. We expect to substantially complete detailed engineering in the first half of next year. I will provide a CapEx update on the back of that. We do expect capital to be higher than the PEA, and it will reflect approximately 3 years of inflation competitive contractor, and skilled labor market. And scope changes and enhancements we make as we move through detailed engineering. However, given the high grade, significant production scale, and low anticipated cost of Great Bear, we expect a high return and quick payback on the cap.

We are focused on building a robust, reliable, top tier mine given the quality of the resource base and a multi decade production potential. We are excited to now be progressing underground with AEX. Seeing the future of Great Bear taking shape. I will now hand it over to Jeff for an update on permitting at Great Bear.

Geoffrey Gold: Thanks, Will. As Paul noted, a permitting timeline for the main project continues to remain on track. We continue to work closely with the authorities and are significantly advanced on the main project federal and provincial permitting which I will speak a little further about. Federally, we are progressing the impact assessment process and have formally responded to the information requests received to date. As previously noted, a final decision on our impact statement is required by the late spring of 2027 in order to facilitate the early works and construction permits needed from the federal and provincial authorities to commence construction of the mine during the summer of 2027.

Provincially, the integrated 1 project, 1 process, also known as 1P1P, continues to proceed in accordance with our overall project permitting timeline. We have submitted most of our key early works permitting applications, and expect to receive our final indigenous consultation plan shortly. Another milestone out of the provincial permitting process. We believe the definitive Impact Benefits Agreement also known as an IBA, with Lac Seul and Wabauskang First Nations will benefit the overall permitting process and is important to maintaining our project permitting timeline. In that regard, we continue to make good progress on our IBA agreement.

As previously disclosed, we signed a memorandum of understanding detailing the key financial arrangements and First Nations accommodations for the IBA, and we are currently in the process of advancing the nonfinancial aspects of the agreement including the results of our First Nations independent impact assessment work. Lastly, and as previously noted, we have already signed a collective benefits agreement with the Northwestern Ontario Metis community. So overall, we have made meaningful progress with our indigenous communities. And with that, I will now turn the call over to Paul for closing remarks.

J. Paul Rollinson: Thanks, Jeff. To conclude, Q3 demonstrated the resilience of our portfolio and we remain on track for our 2026 updated guidance. Looking forward, we are excited about our future. We have a resilient production base, with a clear path to higher grade production starting in 2028. We have a competitive relative cost position We have an excellent balance sheet. We have an attractive return of capital. We have an exciting pipeline of both exploration and development opportunities and we are very proud of our commitment to responsible mining that continues to make us a leader in sustainability.

In closing, when we look at the strength of our portfolio, our strong free cash flow generation, and our financial position against our valuation today we believe our shares offer an even more exceptional investment opportunity. And with that, operator, I would like to open up the line for questions.

Operator: Thank you. At this time, I would like to remind everyone in order to ask a question, press star, then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Your first question is from the line of Matthew Murphy with BMO Capital Markets.

Matthew Murphy: Morning. Thanks for all the updates, and good to hear that projects are going well. First question, just on the trajectory for CapEx. Is it fair to say you will be sort of at the upper end of CapEx guide this year just based on the pace so far? And is there anything you can say about the pace in 2027. I know you have got the 1.5 billion but still the subject to inflation and project advancement Any thoughts around is the 440 rate? Like should we continuing to run with that as sort of a quarterly cadence, or could it be higher?

Andrea Susan Freeborough: Hi, Matthew. it is Andrea. I will take that to start anyway. For this year, for Q4, probably a bit of an increase in Q4 on both sustaining and growth. On sustaining, I think first half will end up being a second half will end up being about equal to first half. And it is kind of been a bit up and down through the quarters. And on the growth side, we have seen that ramp up a bit through the year just as the growth projects are ramping up. So that probably takes us somewhere in the midpoint to upper end of the guidance by the time we close out this year. But still within that guidance range.

As we look to next year, we have the 1.5 billion range again out there. But we have always said that subject to inflation, and ongoing project approval. So we are just in the budget process now. And we will see where we come out on that. But some examples of things we are looking at that are still in the assessment process are Fort Knox phase 11. If we do approve that, we will start spending on that next year. And then there is some other potential incremental opportunities that we continue to look at that are really to address production in the 2030. Okay. Thanks.

Matthew Murphy: I will look forward to post budgeting update. And anything you can share on working capital bit of a drag in Q3? Does that reverse in Q4?

Andrea Susan Freeborough: I would call it temporary. I think some of it likely reverses in Q4. I will probably have a-- and it will probably swing the other way in Q4. it is kind of typical for us. 1 of the big pieces in Q3 was short term stockpiles. So that was at Manh Choh, and some of that will come out in Q4. But we might see that kinda continuing just because we stopped mining before we stopped processing. So we have mined through the end of next year, and there will be some stockpiles throughout that time period if we do continue to process beyond that.

But things like you know, the payables and prepaid, those will reverse as we go through Q4. Okay. Thank you. And then I guess last we did have a bit of additional finished goods. Just at the end of the quarter, and that was the sales were behind production, and that all got sold in early October.

Operator: Your next question is from the line of Fahad Tariq with Jefferies.

Fahad Tariq: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. On Round Mountain, it looked like it was quite a bit better than the second quarter. Mills grades were 0.73 grams per ton. Recovery was 60%. I think the throughput was a 5-quarter high. I am just trying to reconcile that with the September update and I guess the answer is it is lower relative to the mine plan. So maybe if you could just touch on what the expected I guess, operating metrics were according to the original mine plan, that would be helpful. Thanks.

Bernard Wessels: Thank you. it is Bernard speaking here. Certainly, we have seen the improvements much as we have mentioned in our in our press release. We are starting to see improvements both on the grades that we are seeing from Phase X is coming through. As well as some of the recoveries through our improvement initiatives. I think, ultimately, we saw quarter on quarter improvements as we. As indicated there. But we still need to get back to around 80% on recovery. And we are well on our target on achieving that.

So you know, as I have said recently, you know, we definitely seeing the updated improvements coming through and certainly the great recovery probably closer to 80% in the second part of the year.

Fahad Tariq: And then just switching gears to Great Bear on the AEX. Can you talk a little bit about any risk to the I guess, any First Nations pushback or permitting there, and if that if that does have any impact on the main project? Thanks.

Geoffrey Gold: Yeah. Sure. I will take that 1. Just, you know, context is important here. I would say that, you know, we have. We are really kind of got 2 separate permitting processes. 1 for AEX and 1 for the 1 for the main project. You know, AEX is not critical to the main project. And I would also say that AEX is not under 1 p 1 p, which the main project is. And that is for making a huge difference to us in terms of what we are kind of seeing. And what I would say on overall timing you know, main project permitting still remains on time.

At this date based on our on our project schedule, which we have shared with both the provincial and federal authorities. And then on the AX side, I would say, as you know, those permits have been appealed. By Grassy Narrows First Nation. They are they are seeking a leave to appeal but we would not expect to see a decision on that. until later next year, potentially in the first half. And, you know, in the meantime, it is been full steam ahead. We have been able to significantly complete our AEX activity. And we are certainly not anticipating any delays at this point to our main project permitting given they are 2 separate processes.

And we would expect the provincial authorities to assess those main project permits under their own merits. And I would also say that in that regard, we have worked very closely with the authorities to ensure that we are addressing the concerns of Grassy Narrows in those in those permits. Last but not least, and you know, there is there is sort of been a lot of media about grassy, but I would say that the that the bigger voice here is our traditional territory rights owners, Lac Seul and Wabauskang, On whose territory our project is located. They have been very supportive of AEX, and further in support of our project overall.

And we have made significant progress on our IBA agreement negotiations. And we see that and, you know, once we are sort of completed those negotiations, as being a big catalyst to facilitate the remaining permits that we require on the project. And on the IBA, as we have disclosed previously, we have sort of landed on you know, the key financial metrics and compensatory elements for nations. And now we are sort of just focused on you know, some of the some of the softer issues or the nonfinancial provisions. So we are making excellent progress there. And, you know, we would expect to get that agreement signed before we receive the final IAC decision.

And, again, you know, see that as a potential facilitator for the remainder of the permitting on the project. Great. Very clear. Thank you.

Operator: Your next question is from the line of Daniel Major with UBS.

Daniel Major: Hi there. Can you hear me okay? Yep. Yep. Hello? Great. Hey. And thanks for the questions. Yeah. I guess, 1, thinking about the trajectory of unit costs into 2027, you got essentially, you know, flat production and certainly external variables energy, etcetera, look like they will be a consistent cost pressure. Yeah. Would it be, you know, fair to assume that you know, those unit costs are moving higher in the, say, $50 to $100 an ounce sort of range based on current external variables.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: I will take that 1. it is Andrea. So we typically provide cost kind of 1 year out. it is pretty difficult to make the call on inflation on inflation longer than that. I think maybe important to know structurally, production is similar in 2027 to 2026. there is a bit more production coming from the U.S. and some offsets, but I do not think that will have a significant impact on overall cost. In 2027 versus 2026. We are just in the budget process right now, but expect inflation to probably be similar to where it was this year, which was about a 5% factor that we had on our on our on our cost.

With the 1 caveat that we are continuing to watch, where diesel prices go, oil price as well as the crack spreads. So we are we do not think that currently has a big impact on this year, but we are continuing to look at it as we go through the budget process.

J. Paul Rollinson: Yeah. And I would just pile on there and just say, completely support everything Andrea has just said, but we do also look through the windshield a little bit. 1 of the things we are working on or executing is what we call our grade enhancement strategy. So as we look through 2027 into 2028, 2029, that is when the grade enhancement strategy starts to kick in. So we expect we will start to get the benefit of the underground grades at phase x, the benefit of Curlew, we have got higher grades underground. And, of course, our mine plan has us approaching the bottom of the pit at Tasiast where we get back into the high grade.

So to Andrea's point, operationally, 27 is a lot like 26. We will keep going with efficiencies and everything we can do to manage that inflation. But looking through the windshield, we should have an organic offset.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: Maybe I will just add too back to 27. We do also have hedges in place against the oil cost component of the diesel price in 2027 for about 50% hedged for 2027.

Daniel Major: Okay. So you okay. So you are 50% hedged. And at what sort of level relative to this year's trending diesel cost?

Andrea Susan Freeborough: In the low $60 a barrel. Okay. $60 to $65 a barrel. Okay.

Daniel Major: Very helpful. Thank you. Second 1, maybe just touching on Matthew's questions on CapEx. You guided ~$260 million, I think, in Great Bear this year. What should we be expecting for a run rate of CapEx into next year, assuming the FID comes through in line with your expected time lines? And a similar question on Lobo-Marte, is that going to be incurring kind of preapproval spend in 2027?

William D. Dunford: Yeah. If you if you look back at what we disclosed with the PA time, it is got a bit of a profile there. So, obviously, 2027 upon receipt of our federal permits, go into significant construction. So we do expect that it ramps up meaningfully. It was in the ~$500 million range in that original PEA. Obviously, that is a few-years-dated years dated now in terms of the value date for some of those quotes. So we expect that will be higher when we work in inflation, but next year starts to be a meaningful spend year at Great Bear if all cost well with permitting.

Daniel Major: Got it. Okay. So the 500 million is from a timeline standpoint. Still valid, and then we should imply an inflation factor onto that. Is the right way of thinking about Yeah.

William D. Dunford: that is what we are thinking right now. And then Lobo Marte, you know, is not in full construction next year. that is more still early spend. So we are still doing our budgeting work, but that is not in the same scale next year. Really will get into full construction later in 2028. Into 2029. So it is a little bit staggered behind Great Bear. Okay. Thanks.

Daniel Major: And then a final 1 Yeah. The lift in free cash flow payout. To in terms of cash returns. So I think is yeah, supportive, but you are still accruing 50% of the free cash flow on the balance sheet if you stick to that policy. We have seen some decline in asset values in the sector more broadly. What are you seeing on the M&A landscape? Is there any items in the far that look more attractive as equity values in the sector are coming down?

J. Paul Rollinson: Like, again, I our standard sort of response on that is we. We are we keep keeping on aware of what is out there We feel we are in a in a pretty good position with our organic internal optionality. We have got over 40 million ounces of resource. You recall last year, of the things we did is we brought our U.S.-- a number of our U.S. brownfield projects out of that. Resource category through further drilling, further study, and we basically move things out of resource into reserve. We have got lots of depth in the portfolio. To keep advancing internally. But, yes, we do we do keep an awareness of.

And an eye on what is out there and again, we have got a fabulous balance sheet We have got very strong cash flow. We have got a great internal resource. Optionality. So we do not feel under pressure. So we do look. Particularly if there is a process or something's going on. We will take a look at it. But if you look in the rearview mirror, we have been pretty disciplined in terms of when we decide to move forward with M&A, and that will continue. In a good position where we do not need to do anything, but we can look, and if we saw value, creation opportunities, we would look a little closer. Right.

Thanks so much.

Operator: Your next question is from Carey MacRury with Canaccord Genuity.

Carey MacRury: Hi. Good morning. Just a question on La Coipa. Just wondering in terms of the mine plan, like, how long you expect to be mining in this area with high copper grades? And just maybe more broadly, how much of the mine plan contains that sort of ore?

William D. Dunford: Yeah. there is-- these really high copper sulfides are at bottom of phase 7, which were planning to finish next year. Our current permit gets us there. We do have resource out there in the future. And given the grades that we are seeing as we mentioned on the last. In September, we are looking at optionality really for the thirties. So this is stuff that would come in a little later on the back of a flotation circuit or something like that. Those resources are in high-copper-grade sulfides that are below the pit. But the current planned pit is just through 27. that is why it is had a limited impact on us.

Carey MacRury: Okay. And I guess that is why your 2020 guidance is still 2 million ounces or less? Sorry. We did not hear you, Paulie. that is why I was not. Yeah. Your 2028 guidance still shows 2 million ounces, I guess. You are expecting not much of an impact then in 2028 from either Round Mountain or Laurence Coipa?

William D. Dunford: there is no there is no impact from phase 7 or sulfides in 2028 your plan would be done that. Next year anyways.

Carey MacRury: Okay. And then just switching to Great Bear. Just wondering, you know, you have got the deep decline progressing. Just wondering when you expect to be drilling from underground there.

William D. Dunford: We think that will be early next year. If everything stays on target right now, we start to get some early opportunities at top end of the ore body to drill off in a couple areas. We are we are on track for doing that early next year.

Carey MacRury: Okay. Great. that is it for me. Thanks.

Operator: Your next question is from Tanya Jakusconek with Scotiabank.

Tanya Jakusconek: Good morning. I think that is me. You for taking my question. Wanted to circle back on costs, if I could. Just looking at your input costs as you think about your 2027 guidance, can you comment on and I think, Paul, you mentioned a tight labor market Can you comment on what you are seeing in terms of your labor inflation and turnover? I think it was at about 10% for the company. I am just trying to understand what that component is looking like and what your consumable inflation is looking like as well.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: I can start, Tanya. I think on labor, specifically, again, all of this is with the caveat that we are just in a budget process right now. The average labor inflation we are thinking around kind of 5% to 6%, but it is not equal everywhere. So as always, it is, you know, typically higher in the U.S. and in Nevada, but we are roughly seeing about on average in that kind of 5% to 6% range. And as I said, overall inflation around 5% And, generally, just to add on, you know, as we have said many times, Tanya, like, that tends to be our hottest markets.

J. Paul Rollinson: there is competition for everything. Competition for people, competition for spares. it is just there is no currency benefit that we get in other places in the world. So and as it turns out for us, it is again, given the region, we tend to have a bit higher turnovers in Nevada. So all that keeps, I guess, I would say, the Nevada market hot. Relative to some of the other markets that we are dealing with around the world.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: And we have signed labor agreements for our assets outside of The US.

Tanya Jakusconek: Yeah. And what about consumable side. Mhmm. Go ahead. Yeah. I was gonna say again, it just-- we break it down into our component parts. I mean, again, you can sort of pick your rule of thumb, but when you think about energy, labor, and consumables, we have touched on energy, our hedge strategy, what we have been doing there, that is been quite successful. That continues Again, consumables, again, there is a bit of ebb and flow, but nothing right now that we are seeing that is too dramatic. that is concerning us. Okay. I can play around with the oil price assumption. But from a consumable side, there is nothing for us to focus on.

Maybe just on the capital side then, you mentioned again for Great Bear that we will have an update on capital with inflation plus this, you know, tightness in the labor market. So should I be, you know, thinking high level what we have seen historically for CapEx increases, have been you know, up to, 20, 30% from previous numbers. Would that be something, you know, I would be off from your 1.4 billion that you have put out in 2024?

J. Paul Rollinson: Yeah. Yeah. I will start and we will compile it. I mean, obviously, the biggest component of all of this would just be the true up with inflation. And you can kinda do the math from starting back in 2023. You know, as you go beyond inflation, the next category would be I would say, discretionary changes of scope or approach. Discretionary generally means we are doing it for good reason. We see value creation opportunity. We see an efficiency. We see a longer term benefit. So inflation discretionary.

And then I guess the last bucket I would say is more you know, at the market today, And definitely, you know, it is a hotter market in terms of attracting labor right now. We are anticipating that and some of it goes back and forth. For example, you know, 1 of the things we are thinking about as we look forward to Red Lake is our housing strategy. You know? And attracting the best people to a new project part of the equation will be what is our plan what is our housing strategy? What will we offer in terms of and those can impact your scope change.

The case of Red Lake, we are looking at a balance of residential community within Red Lake. As well as maintaining a camp to attract people that still would prefer that rotation. And so there is all kinds of things that go in there in terms of tweaking, adjustments, It will be up. I am not gonna sugarcoat that. But I think. And that is important, and we will always keep a sharp eye on that. But as well, I do wanna say, as you know, you look at the production the margin and the cash flow, the payback on this project has always been pretty incredible. In terms of you know, months, really.

So even with some additional capital, we are gonna be-- this is not what I would call a particularly capital sensitive project given production margins and cash flow.

William D. Dunford: Yeah. And we really are given the long term potential we see there, we are. Really are focused on building this right Started doing all the things Paul spoke about to make sure we have the talent to achieve the You know, you have seen the numbers, but it is 500 thousand ounce a year producer So the cash flow on that is significant and gives us a really strong payback. We do not have a definitive number yet because we are only 5% of the way through our detailed engineering. We are just only now starting the procurement process for our major contractors.

So we will we will be able to answer the questions specifically much better in h 1 of next year. But, again, we are we are just focused on getting the detailed engineering done and making sure we are building a resilient asset given that multi decade potential we see there.

Tanya Jakusconek: Yeah. No. It was just more like trying to get a sense. Like, I am not gonna wake up to a doubling of capital. Versus, you know, something that has been more in the industry in that 20, 30%. Yeah. Yeah. No. Like when we did the PA, we were at 1.4 plus 400 on the AEX. We are not expecting a full double of that, but it is early in the process. So we really need to get to next year to give you a better sense of Okay.

And then my final question is how are you thinking about your reserve and resource pricing and your cutoff grade as we get closer to year end and you are looking at your mine plan for life of mine plans in 2027.

William D. Dunford: I mean. Yeah. Sure. Maybe wanna take that 1, Will, or I can Yeah. We are, you know, we are doing the process right now. We have not finalized yet. But we do for us, we tend to look a lot at 3 year trailing. We think that is a pretty relevant piece of information that we like to track and follow. So, obviously, that is up, so we are now considering kind of a relative ratio increasing our reserve and resource price. We have not picked a final number yet, but we do expect it should raise up to be realistic in that, you know, environment and the gold prices that we have seen.

J. Paul Rollinson: Yeah. And, again, just for context, the you know, the 3 year average is still significantly below spot. Yeah. So I think as you have seen, the pattern is being sort of a drag a drag up over time. With some significant discount to where we are at spot. I would not expect any sort of material changes from there. The bigger point, though, is which is really important that we want to stress, is around cutoff grades. And as we have said many times, we have no intention to drop our cutoff grades.

We are looking at cutoff grades in long term stockpiles for something that we might put in at the end of the mine life, mill life, that sort of thing. But generally speaking, our mills are full. We have got all the grade we need. We have no requirement or no need, if you will, to drop our cutoff grades to keep our mills full. So you will see a kind of a lagging revenue line adjustment with reserve resource pricing, which is, I would say, in line with the trend in the last few years. As Will says, think along the lines of a 3 year rolling average.

Do not expect us to be doing anything dramatic with cutoff grades.

Tanya Jakusconek: Okay.

William D. Dunford: I think the 3-year rolling average is over 3 thousand so that would be a big move from $2,000 to $3 thousand. Okay. Yeah. We are not-- do not go right at the 3-year trailing. it is. The point is, you know, to stay consistent. We were at a historic discount to the 3 year trailing last year with our reserve price. We will probably still be at a historic discount to the 3-year trailing this year, But the point is to try and incrementally move up in a ratio that is similar to what the gold price is. It does not mean you are going right to it. Understood. Thank you for taking my questions.

Operator: Your next question is from Lawson Winder with Bank of America.

Analyst: Thank you very much, operator, and good morning, Paul and team. I appreciate you fitting me in. I recognize we are running a little bit over time here. So I will just keep it to 2 questions. So 1 is just the cost sensitivity on the Chilean peso. Should we read anything into that change? It. it is now, you know, a ~$16 million sensitivity for a 10% FX move. Just a bit surprising given the less production from Chile this year. And then I would just ask a follow-up on that. Capital return.

Andrea Susan Freeborough: I think that is-- it is really just the denominator impact that we are seeing there. The cost mix is similar. So that was really what was behind that.

Analyst: Okay. Fair enough. So nothing really to read into it. And then just on a dividend. So last year at this time and in February of this year, the dividend was bumped up quite materially. Do you consider further dividend increases as a as a sense path to return of capital? Or perhaps does the preference now lie with using the buyback as a as a method for capital return? Thank you.

J. Paul Rollinson: Yeah. Look. I do not I do not think our narrative has changed around the return of capital philosophy, you know, as it relates to buyback versus dividend. You are quite right. We believe the dividend should be a kind of a forever commitment. I can call it that. We have moved it up twice to your point. I think we. We are up probably over 30% since last year. But we are careful. As we move the dividend up, we expect it to stay up. We see more opportunity to lean in and out and do more substantial amounts with a buyback.

And so if you look at our trend, we have had this baseline dividend We have increased that baseline dividend But where we have where we have really taken advantage is to lean into the buyback by increasing the buyback. And we think that is right policy, right philosophy for us today. We think that is what our shareholders prefer today. And I would expect I would guide you to expect we will continue to think about it in that in that way going forward. Okay. Thank you very much.

Operator: There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Paul Rollinson for any closing remarks.

J. Paul Rollinson: Thank you, operator. Thanks, everyone, for joining us. Look forward to catching up with you in person in the coming weeks. Thanks very much.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

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